1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for helping to protect a vehicle occupant in the event of a side impact to a vehicle and/or a vehicle rollover. In particular, the present invention relates to a housing for a side curtain or rollover air bag.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to inflate an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device to help protect a vehicle occupant in the event of a vehicle collision. One particular type of inflatable vehicle occupant protection device is an inflatable curtain that inflates from the roof of the vehicle downward inside the passenger compartment between a vehicle occupant and the side structure of the vehicle in the event of a side impact or rollover. Another type of inflatable vehicle occupant protection device is an inflatable tubular structure that inflates between a vehicle occupant and the side structure of the vehicle in the event of a side impact or a rollover. The inflatable device is typically enclosed in an extruded plastic housing. During assembly, the inflatable device is placed in a chamber in the housing, and the housing is then snapped shut by pushing a locking rib into a locking groove. This can be a difficult assembly step.
The present invention is an apparatus for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle. The apparatus comprises an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device having a deflated condition and being inflatable into a position to help protect the vehicle occupant. The apparatus also comprises a housing for mounting in the vehicle. The housing includes a chamber receiving the inflatable device in the deflated condition. The housing includes a first housing part having a locking rib, and a second housing part having a locking groove and an opening into the locking groove. The locking rib is movable in a first direction through the opening into the locking groove for releasably closing the housing with the inflatable device inside the chamber. The first housing part has a tool receiving portion adjacent the locking rib. The tool receiving portion has a tool receiving surface extending transverse to the first direction for receiving an assembly tool for applying force to move the locking rib in the first direction through the opening into the locking groove.